Specialist Troy Kent and his wife, Specialist Dana KentCourtesy U.S. Army

EL PASO, TX — After Army Specialist Chad Kyser served time in Afghanistan and again set foot on U.S. soil, Specialist Troy Kent told him he couldn't be more proud of him.

"I had just started my life, and I wasn't married yet at the time," Kyser said. "Troy told me I had a beautiful fiancé, and it just looked like I was finally getting to where I needed to be.

"He was so happy for me."

Kent, 25, would have given you the his last dollar if you needed it more than him, Kyser said. He would have invited you over for dinner if you didn't have any food in your house because that's who Troy was toward other people, he said.

Kent was killed Tuesday afternoon when he lost control of his vehicle and ran into oncoming traffic near his base at Fort Bliss, according to a news release from the U.S. Army. He leaves behind his wife, Specialist Dana Kent, and a son.

Kyser said Troy Kent's wife is pregnant and expecting a baby girl in December.

Both Kent and his wife were assigned to the 86th Expeditionary Signal Battalion at Fort Bliss. Specialist Troy Kent was an 11B infantryman who was transitioning out of service and was not scheduled to be deployed.

He was so happy to have served his county and was excited to start a new job a family member recently had arranged, Kyser said.

"I talked to him on Monday night, he wanted to set up a date night for me and my wife and him and his wife," he said. "He was pretty psyched about his new job; he couldn't stop talking about it."

Troy Kent and Kyser both grew up in the Grand Rapids area and attended Union High School together. Although Troy Kent didn't graduate high school, he eventually earned a GED and later deployed to Afghanistan from 2011-12, Kayser said.

If it wasn't for Troy Kent, Kyser said he never would have joined the Army. His friend was determined, motivated and probably cared more for others than he did himself, Kyser said.

"There was a window right in the middle of my room in the house I was living in, and Troy used to pound on the window at 6 in the morning to get me up and ready for practice," he said.

Andrew Krietz covers breaking and general police/fire news for MLive | The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at akrietz@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.